Tata Motors has been going great guns with its new EVs. In August 2022, the company sold 47,166 units of passenger vehicles out of which 3,845 units were electric vehicles (EVs), contributing 8.15 per cent in Tata Motors' overall sales volume. It recorded a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 276 per cent in EV sales last month as 1,022 units were sold in the same month a year ago. So yes! The company's EV business has been on a growth trajectory and the man at the helm now expects the EV share in overall sales to hit double-digits next year, and in-turn rise up to 25 per cent in the next 5 - 6 years period.
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Speaking with Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-In-Chief, carandbike on the sidelines of the 62nd SIAM convention, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, PVs and Passenger Electric Mobility Business- Tata Motors said, "It (EV Share in sales) should cross the double-digit mark is what I would say, it should be above 10 per cent, somewhere in between 10 - 12 per cent. In 5 - 6 years it should be at 25 per cent level."
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The Tata Nexon EV turned out to be a runaway success, turning it around for the Indian brand in the EV space. It set the tone for streamlining electric vehicles (EVs) in the passenger vehicle space and later the range was strengthened with the introduction of the Nexon EV Max that offered better drive range and performance. Chandra mentioned that the company has been surprised with the response the model garnered and they have witnessed a balanced mix between the standard Nexon Prime and Nexon EV, in terms of sales.
The Tata Nexon EV is the bestselling EV in our market and in the first half of 2022 (H1 2022) the company sold 13,280 units, an uptick of 314.4 per cent compared to 3,204 units sold in the corresponding period last year. Chandra added that the Nexon EV Max has helped to push sales in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Bihar among others where the charging infrastructure is still nascent, and buyers tend to go for higher range models. The Tata Tigor EV also made its foray in the personal electric mobility space in 2021 receiving a major overhaul and becoming the most affordable electric four-wheeler offering in India. Its sales have been on the rise as well with 5,532 units being sold in the H1 2022, up by 2391.8 per cent when compared to just 222 units sold in the same period a year ago.
One of the key reasons of Tata's success with its EVs is lack of proper competition and of course it made the most of the first-mover advantage. While there are plenty EVs in the premium car segment, the mass-market EV segment has just a handful. That said, with new models like the Mahindra XUV400 EV, Mahindra's Born Electric EV range and other players planning new EV launches within the next five years, the EV market is set to expand, in-turn pushing volumes.
There is no denying that Tata Motors will face competition January 2023 onwards when the XUV400 EV hits the road, and it will only increase going forward. However, the company's confidence in achieving double-digit EV share in its volumes imminently and taking it to 25 per cent in the long run comes from its new launches that's in the pipeline. It has already announced the Tata Tiago EV that will break cover on September 28 and tap the entry-level space in the EV market. Then, the carmaker also introduced the Tata Avinya and Curvv concepts earlier this year which look nothing short of a design marvel, one of the strongest selling points for Tata cars, and will be positioned at the higher end of the mass-market EV segment. The company is counting on its new launches to acheive its target growth. It is expecting more volumes as it plans to fill up the white spaces in the mass EV market by tapping new segments with upcoming EV launches.
